Minimally invasive procedures are desirable over conventional open medical procedures as they reduce pain and provide quick recovery times. Many minimally invasive procedures are performed with an endoscope. Such procedures permit a surgeon to position, manipulate, and view medical instruments and accessories inside the patient through a small access opening in the patient's body.
Arthroscopic surgery is a type of endoscopic surgery in which the intra-articular space is filled with fluid. Arthroscopic surgery is typically enabled by a camera system attached to an endoscope with an angled direction of view. This angled direction of view enables the surgeon to view a more comprehensive image of the anatomy (compared to a “forward looking” scope with a non-angled direction of view) by rotating the arthroscope relative to the camera. Often, this rotation is the only possible manipulation of the scope because the anatomy may prevent other motions (e.g., deflection, pistoning, etc). Rotation of the scope is also the safest manipulation of the scope, with the least potential damage to the surrounding anatomy.
Conventional arthroscopic cameras/arthroscopic systems typically require rotation of the scope by a two-handed operation from the surgeon. For this, the surgeon secures the camera head in one hand and rotates the scope with the other hand by manipulating the light guide attached to the scope. Using two hands for rotating the scope is inconvenient because the surgeons prefer using a therapeutic instrument (such as a shaver or a suture passer, for example) simultaneously with the camera. Thus, the two-handed scope rotation causes delays in surgery.
Some surgeons with large hands are able to rotate the endoscope with one hand, by extending the index finger proximally to rotate the light post (light guide). This is an awkward hand position, however, in which the index finger is unable to apply significant force to rotate the light post. Accordingly, this manipulation often leads to hand fatigue.
An endoscope with an improved ergonomic design that minimizes hand fatigue and increases the efficiency of the endoscopic/arthroscopic procedure is needed. Also needed is a cost effective mechanism that can attach to a conventional endoscope/arthroscope and has a design that allows one-handed endoscope rotation. An ergonomic method for surgeons (with varying hand size) to rotate the endoscope/arthroscope is also needed.